A Friend in Need
by GeneticallyEnhanced1
Summary: Finally complete! My version of the 5th season premiere. Clark faces a new enemy from another planet... with Chloe's help!
1. Chapter 1

Clark stared wide-eyed as he watched the formed element smash against the snow. A gasp caught in his throat as the element broke into about a million pieces_. Did he do something wrong? Was he supposed to handle the element differently?_ His worries were answered when the ground started to shake underneath him. It shook with such a force that he was thrown off his feet. He squinted his eyes in disbelief when he saw an icicle shoot out of the ground. Another shot up opposite to the first. Within moments the ground shook again and a huge snow bank had formed in front of a stunned Clark.

He surveyed the giant structure and discovered a door in the middle. There was no lock or doorknob of any sort. He tracked his hand along the wall until he found his hand inside an imprint of a hand. The imprint glowed rock and the door to the structure shot open. Taking a deep breath, Clark stepped inside. He was amazed at what he saw. Lex had said that the stones would lead to a cache of knowledge that rivaled the library of Alexandria. What Lex did not know what that the knowledge was Kryptonian and intended for the Last Son of Krypton.

Clark found a podium inside the center of the bank with another imprint of a hand in the middle. Instinctively, he placed his hand inside the crevice. He heard some clicks and rumbles and a hologram of 2 people dressed in long flowing robes appeared before him. One was a dark haired woman with a sweet expression on her face, the one was a man who resembled him and wore a stern expression.

"Welcome to your Fortress of Solitude, Kal-El," the hologram lady spoke. Clark's heart jumped in his throat as he realized that the woman was indeed Lara, his birth mother.

"Here you may learn about your planet and its rich history. Here you will start to understand and at last start your journey to fulfill your destiny," the man spoke whom Clark new to be Jor-El.

"Good luck, my sweet Kal-El," Lara spoke. The hologram then started to fade out. Clark reached toward it in a panic as he saw the vision of his parents disappeared.

"No! Wait! There's so much I need to know!" he cried. But when he blinked and looked forward again he saw nothing. Clark looked at his outstretched hand which was shaking with emotion. It took him a moment to register what he saw as he stood stunned. Then he lay his arm flat against his side, sighed, and turned to face his fortress.

Clark found that the Fortress of Solitude to be much like the caves in nature. They were filled with ancient scrawls, drawings, and symbols throughout. Further, there cave was stacked with books which depicted life on Krypton: daily habits, traditions, jobs, events, culture, and its rich history. As he thumbed through the books, reading in his Kryptonian language, he couldn't help but be impressed. Here he could finally imagine a world where people lived how he lived. They shared the same genetic makeup, the same abilities. The world was made for them and built around their skills. Clark was so impressed that he couldn't help but feel nostalgic for a place he never lived in. It was an unusual feeling.

Clark saw one book hanging precariously from the bookshelf. It was more tattered and in poorer shape than the rest of the books he laid his eyes upon. It was a journal, he discovered. He felt a little guilty, reading another's personal thoughts, but temptation got the better of him. He flipped to the middle of the book and began reading.

_Altogether I did not know what to think of the third planet from the sun. The inhabitants there were an enigma. Some were filled with jealousy, weakness, and selfishness; others had a deep sympathy toward others and were quite exceptional people. I will be certain that my infant son, Kal-El, will be surrounded by such Earthlings. The Kents are a good people. I have high hopes that they will raise Kal-El well and teach him to be strong. In return, Kal-El must protect those who have helped him and others when he rules their planet. _

At the last sentence, Clark snapped the journal shut as a huge lump formed in his throat. It was quite odd to get into his birth father's psyche again. _Rule the Earth but protect those who help me…_he pondered. Taking in his words, he realized that he was in the Arctic while his parents and his friends might need help from the devastation of the second meteor shower. Smallville lay miles away, though. He wondered why his father would place a structure made for him out in the middle of nowhere that would take hours to reach. Pushing all thoughts of Jor-El's agenda from his mind, Clark took off like a bullet toward his hometown hoping that everyone was safe…

Chloe stared wide eyed at the spot where Clark had suddenly vanished. After the initial shock a million thoughts swam through her head. It was obvious that Clark wasn't your typical meteor freak. If she put the pieces together she had known that all along. And just how _was_ Clark connected to those stones? Were the stones connected to the meteor shower somehow?

Unfortunately Chloe didn't really have time to ponder about her strange friend's disappearance. She heard a loud scuffling behind her as she realized Lex had was right behind her and ambling toward the mysterious room. Lex had no angry words for Chloe despite the fact she had just shoved his face into a wall, he merely pushed her aside as he fled for the mysterious room. Before Chloe could stop him, they both stopped in their tracks to hear a loud rumbling. Chloe and Lex gave a fearful stare to each other, their worst fear realized. The cave was coming down on them.

Desperate to see what was beyond the wall, Lex pressed forward anyway. Chloe shouted after him. "Lex, stop! We have to get out of here!"

"You just don't want me to find the truth!" Lex accused, pressing on with a glazed look in his eyes. Just then a huge piece of the cave wall came crashing down in front of him blocking off the entrance of the secret room. Lex threw his weight against the boulder and shouted, "NO! NO! I have to find the truth!"

Chloe shielded her face with her hands as the cave walls came tumbling down around her. They had to leave… now! Chloe bit her lip as she considered racing out. But she couldn't leave Lex to his fate. "Lex, come on! It's coming down! We have to go!" she cried. She raced over to the manic Lex and tugged his arm. Lex shrugged his arm and grunted as he continued to push the rock away. Somewhere in his head Lex knew he was acting irrationally. He was so close now. If the cave came down he might never know its secrets. Angry tears of frustration burned his eyes as he pounded on the rock ignoring Chloe's desperate pleas for them to leave. He glanced up and noticed another huge chunk of the wall headed straight for his head.

Acting quickly Lex dove to the ground, knocking Chloe to the ground and just missing the piece of rock. He propped his upper body up and met Chloe's eyes. He saw great fear in her now dilated, wide eyes. But something else too… was it… pity? It was enough for his sanity to flick back. He shoved himself upright and reached out his hand for Chloe's. "C'mon Chloe, we've got to get out of here," he said smoothly as if he wasn't just acting manically.

A bit confused Chloe took his hand nonetheless and they raced for the cave entrance. Chloe found herself racing behind Lex as she griped his hand tightly. Just as they were about to reach the entrance, another chunk of the ceiling fell in between them. Chloe found herself on the floor of the cave with a heavy rock pinning her leg to the ground. She gaped in horror as she realized the wreckage had sealed her way to the exit. Chloe attempted to remove the debris as well but found herself incapacitated by her trapped foot. Lex, who managed to land on the opposite site of the wreckage, screamed for Chloe. He started to help her by rapidly moving aside the rocks that sealed her way to the exit. He grunted as he pushed the rocks aside and steadily started to make progress.

Suddenly another huge chunk of ceiling fell right beside him. Panicking, Lex shot a glance to the exit. It was filling up fast with the crumbling cave. He gave Chloe a sympathetic look and after a long pause he dashed for the exit. "I'm sorry, Chloe," he said softly but just enough so she could hear him. Chloe was left on the floor of the cave, horrified at the recent turn of events.

Jason Teague and the Kents looked up in horror to see a giant meteor headed toward their barn. Before anyone could react, the meteor tore through the roof and plummeted to the ground. When Jonathon Kent opened his eyes, he immediately glanced over at his wife cradled in his arms. But she was looking forward, mouth agape. Jonathon looked in the direction Martha was staring. He saw a huge crater as the ground had caved in front of them. Smoke emanated from the ground. Jonathon's eyes darted back and forth looking for the desperate young man who was just holding a rifle to them. He gulped, closed his eyes, and looked down into the carter. He knew that Jason Teague was no more.

"Oh my God…"she breathed, as tears clung to her eyes. "Jason." Though obviously not very fond of the young man who had threatened their lives, Martha and Jonathon would not wish such a horrific death on anyone. Just as the Kents were catching their breath, they heard a loud bang as the door flung open. Jonathon stood up immediately, fumbled for his rifle, and headed for the door. No one else would threaten him or his wife. He raised his rifle at shoulder length and aimed toward the door.

_Its okay, Chloe. You had a good run. You certainly had an exciting life_, Chloe

thought as she squirmed and clawed at the ground desperate to free her leg. Chloe's life flashed before her eyes as she thought of all the many times she had narrowly escaped death. _I can certainly survive this one, _she thought with grim determination. Then a light bulb came on. _Because Clark will save me again. _

But how? Clark was just blasted off to who knows where. Chloe's mind reeled as she thought of Clark and all his amazing abilities. Abilities… She thought of Clark's superhearing. But then… Clark's superhearing couldn't be that good… could it? As more and more of the cave plunged in front of her Chloe realized that his superhearing was her only hope… With that Chloe Sullivan screamed as she had never screamed before.

There was no one. Not a soul. It was almost twilight and the entire town was emptied. Clark surveyed the damage of the meteor shower in the center of town. Streetlights littered the ground. The sidewalk was cracked and missing in many places. Acres of farmland were scorched. Familiar sights no longer existed. The jewelry store, where he had once lost his sight, was destroyed beyond repair.

He couldn't stop feeling the tremendous guilt which left a huge lump in his throat. Why didn't he reunite the crystals earlier? This was his entire fault. Just like the first meteor shower. It was so desolate that the only sounds Clark could make out were the gentle flicks from the flames of places that had been ignited by the meteors. He shut his eyes tightly, not wanting to see the devastation before him… not wanting to her the sound of the flames.

Sometimes when Clark was alone at night he would sit in his loft, close his eyes and listen to the sounds of nighttime. He could hear the chirps of crickets, the hooting of the night owls, squeaks of field mice, and even the soft movements of animals scavenging through the fields. He hoped to gain solace in these sounds, if only for a brief moment… to escape what had happened. But, quite faintly, Clark heard a sound that was out of the ordinary. He tilted his head to focus in on the sound… a voice… a familiar voice… _Clark! _

No…. it couldn't be. But what if it was? Clark, of course, would not take that chance. He raced toward the voice and charged toward the source. He raced so fast everything was a blur. He halted when at last he reached the source of the voice. He felt panicked as he realized it was Chloe screaming his name at the top of her lungs. He darted his eyes and then focused with his X-ray vision. Clark was shocked to realize he was in front of the cave entrance. He further zoomed in to see Chloe struggling under debris… with a huge fragment of the cave ceiling heading to seal her fate.

Acting in 'Clark time' he punched the boulders that now sealed the cave so that the fragments tore away and flew from the entrance. He reached Chloe just in time to block the cave piece from landing on her and it instead shattered against his back. Chloe looked up at Clark in wonder as he shrugged off the debris and hoisted her from her trap with no effort at all. "Clark," she breathed.

"It's going to be okay," Clark assured her as her shielded her body and looked for an exit. The cave's entrance had become blocked again and the entire wall was coming down quick. It would be a mere seconds until the cave gave way for good. He realized that he couldn't herd Chloe to the exit without having the cave collapse on her. He blinked twice as he realized that the falling cave had left a large gap in the ceiling. One just large enough for him to fly out of before the cave totally collapsed. Before Clark realized what he was doing he had grabbed his terrified friend and rocketed up to the ceiling moments before the Kawatche Caves completely crumbled.

Clark smiled as he realized he had made another narrow escape and helped his friend cheat death. He looked at Chloe who was staring at him with wide eyes. It was then Clark looked down to realize that the ground was shrinking under him and that he was flying. Within seconds Clark felt as terrified as the girl who was clinging tightly to him.

"Clark… Clark… CLARK!" Chloe shouted as they went higher and higher. "You might want to stop now!"

"Uhhh," Clark squeaked as he looked down. "I-I can't."

Chloe did a double take. What if Clark couldn't stop? What if he went into orbit, she ran out of oxygen and well… died. What was he thinking! She looked back at Clark to realize that Clark looked… terrified. Her airborne friend was flying and didn't even seem to understand what was happening to him.

"Clark. Clark," she said grabbing him and forcing him to face her with one hand and gripping his body with the other. "It's okay. I'm going to need you to stop."

Clark nodded and stopped flying. Clark and Chloe were now suspended in mid air high above the remnants of the Kwatache Caves. Chloe gripped Clark tighter with both hands as she realized there were several feet between her and solid ground. "Not what I had in mind…"

"Ummm, it's just I've never done this before…I mean… I-I don't think I have…" he said. "And I might be little… scared. Of heights," he finished, wincing as he finished.

Chloe stared at him incredulously. "You can fly… and you're afraid of heights," she stated. She bit her lip to keep from laughing, cleared her throat, and addressed her terrified pilot. "Well… maybe, maybe you just… y'know… let go."

"Let go…" he pondered. "Ok. Ok. I'll try that."

Chloe then screamed as she realized they were now plummeting to the ground. Thinking quickly Clark held Chloe skyward as he plunged headfirst down to the ground so he would bear the brunt of the crash. Not knowing what else to do he veered off toward the oak tree to their immediate right.

They tumbled down the mighty oak hearing many loud 'thumps' and the rustling of leaves flung in all directions. Clark made sure that he received most of the impact during the crash as he tried to desperately catch a branch between his fingers and halt their fall. He pondered that while his gifts helped him a great deal, his unique anatomy could have supplied an extra arm or two in this case as he tried to hold onto Chloe. At last he was able to latch onto a tree branch and avoid the inevitable crash to the ground. He waivered a bit from the momentum of the fall, then swung himself and Chloe onto the 'lucky' branch. When he righted himself he found that he had landed on a highly unstable tree branch. He glanced up to see that he had shattered many upper branches on his clumsy descent down. His hair and jacket were strewn with leaves and twigs from the fall. He turned his attention to Chloe, who had passed out from the initial crash. He felt a mixture of embarrassment and guilt for the crash. Then he decided the best thing to do was to take Chloe to the barn, tend to her wounds, and reveal why he was able to perform his most recent amazing (yet flawed) feat. Wincing at all the questions he knew he would have to answer, Clark sped Chloe to the Kent farm.


	2. Truths Revealed, Complications Arise

Author's Note: Sorry this part's a little late. I was setting up my new aquarium (yippee!) and well, to be honest I wrote this story a long time ago and wasn't sure where to take it. So here's part 2… hope you like!

Spoilers: I don't read spoilers (they reveal too much!) so if anything here sounds like a spoiler, then it's not intentional.

Chapter 2: Truths Revealed, Complications Arise

Martha hid behind her husband and clung to his shirt in fear as she heard the door creak open. Consumed with anger and distraught over the most recent series of unfortunate events, Jonathon prepared to shoot the newest Kent family intruder. He felt an uncontrollable rage boiling in him as he cocked the gun forward. "Whoever you are… I think it would be best if you left me and my wife _alone_," he said, menacingly.

"Dad. What happened?" an insistent voice spoke. Jonathon breathed out loudly, pulled his rifle down, and smirked slightly.

"Clark. Thank God," he said. His face crumpled when he saw an unconscious Chloe in Clark's arms. "Is Chloe okay?"

"Uhhh," Clark hesitated. "I think she'll be fine. Are you two okay? What happened here?" he asked, stepping into the house and surveying the giant crater.

Martha rose and walked toward her son. "Jason," she stated, staring into the crater. "He-he threatened us."

Clark protested, incredulously. "No… not Jason. He wasn't… he wasn't the type he-"

Jonathon took a deep breath. "He wanted information on you, Clark."

Clark's eyes widened as he felt disbelief as well as the familiar pangs of guilt. Jonathon, knowing what his son was thinking, frowned and threw him a _don't get go there _look. Before he could speak Martha jumped in.

"He was after the stones. We think that was his agenda all along," she explained. "Did you…"

At that moment a very bedraggled and pained Lana stumbled into the doorway of the Kent household. She grunted as she dragged her twisted leg on the floor. The Kents ran to her side to keep her from collapsing. "Lana!" Martha cried. "Are you alright?"

"Yea, I'm okay," Lana lied as she tightened her grip on Mr. Kent's supportive arm. She then took note of Clark, who was still cradling Chloe in his arms. "Is Chloe okay?" she asked, concerned.

Clark was so surprised to see Lana such a poor condition that he had almost forgotten about the unconscious reporter in his arms. "Oh! Uhhh, yeah she's okay. She kinda took a nasty fall."

"Lucky you were there to help her," Lana smiled slightly. Jonathon gave Clark and perplexed look, sensing something was amiss. He then started to lead Lana onto the couch in the living room, but she stopped in her tracks when she saw the huge crater in the middle of the Kent house. She gasped audibly and shot the Kents a look of shock. "What-what _happened_ here?"

"The meteor shower," Martha answered sullenly.

"Don't worry about that Lana, everyone's okay. Right now I think we need to concentrate on getting you to a hospital," Jonathon stalled, not wanting to explain what happened to Jason right now. "Clark, can you take care of Chloe?"

Lost in contemplation about his former friend, Clark took a moment to register his father's words. "Yea, sure Dad. Make sure Lana's safe," he requested with pleading eyes.

Once Lana was out of eyeshot, Clark hurriedly brought Chloe up to his loft and settled her down on his hammock. He watched over her with concern, fiddling with his photos and school supplies impatiently. After a few minutes, he heard Chloe stir and rushed to her side.

"Chloe," he called out in relief.

"Clark," she smiled, squeezing his hand. "How long was I out?"

"About an hour," he told her. "How do you feel?"

"Sore, but fine," she looked up at him. "Feel a little jetlagged though," she quipped.

Clark frowned. He had hoped she wouldn't have any recollection of what had happened after her fall. No such luck this time… "Look Chloe… about what happened…" He searched for an explanation. Somehow 'we were really at a movie premiere and I was suspended by invisible wires' sounded unconvincing even for him.

"Clark," Chloe interrupted, easing herself up and raising a hand. "You don't have to make excuses, anymore."

Clark raised an eyebrow. "Excuses?" he laughed nervously. "Chloe what are you talking about?"

She rose and walked over to the window of the loft, sighing heavily. "Clark- I know about you…" she began tentatively. She looked back at him and noted his confused expression. Clark was stunned What did she know about him? And how? How could he have been so obvious to reveal himself to her? And if she knew, what if other people knew? He looked back at her again. He was surprised to see that Chloe appeared neither freaked out nor angry. Should he tell her everything? Or was it safer to lie again? After all this was Chloe, the girl who couldn't stop delving into his secrets…

"What do you know?" he heard himself ask in a soft voice, sounding more than a little defensive.

Chloe took a deep breath. "Well, you have this incredible strength, you run so fast Einstein would have a field day with you, you can see through objects… which is a power no teenage boy should have by the way… Not to mention the fact they'd probably love to abuse your super hearing that would really put any high tech stereo system to shame. You seem to shoot fire from your eyes when you feel, uhhhh, how can I put this? Passionate? That and the fact you make a pretty lousy pilot…" she concluded, trying to inject humor into the situation.

Clark took in Chloe's words as his eyes grew wide with disbelief. "Wow… you know all that, huh?" he asked, sitting down on a nearby haystack. Realizing he would be unable to deny all of her damning evidence, Clark pondered this development. Chloe saw the worry etched on his handsome features, sighed, and sat down next to him.

"You know, its okay Clark," she offered. "I know why you didn't tell me," she admitted, looking down at her hands guiltily. "I haven't really been good at keeping your private life a secret… I know. I just- I just wanted you to know you could trust me."

Clark's curiosity was piqued. "How long have you known?"

"Since February," she admitted. Now Clark really wondered how he could been unaware of Chloe's knowledge. She did drop a lot of subtle hints in his direction. They began swimming through his mind: '_You would be pretty hard to replace with all your skills'…'If anyone can find her its you'… 'You trusted me'… _There was one thing he had to know.

"How?"

Chloe hesitated, knowing his complicated history with Alicia. Then she relented, realizing she didn't want any more lies and secrets between them anymore. "Alicia," she stated simply. Clark looked upset and started to protest. "She wanted me to expose you to everyone. I… guess she thought it'd be easier for you. She set you up-"

"The car-" Clark interrupted upon his realization.

"Yea…" she nodded. Clark took in all of this information. Alicia had set him up and given Chloe the story of a lifetime. The biggest article of the year, but Chloe hadn't written anything. She had kept all of his secrets to herself without sharing them with anyone… all in the name of friendship. Chloe saw Clark work out the information in his head and tried to assuage his fears. "Look Clark, this-this isn't bad. I mean, it's pretty funny if you think about it because-"

"Chloe," Clark stopped her. He took a breath and smiled in her direction. "Thank you," he said simply.

Chloe sighed heavily and grinned with relief. Now that his skepticism was out of the way, she could finally ask him that one plaguing question in her mind. "Clark- there's something I need to ask you. You and I know more about… people affected by the meteor rocks than anyone. But something… doesn't quite add up about you. Why do you have so many powers? Most people affected by meteor rocks end up with one… that we know of anyway. And then when we were in the cave you just disappeared on us. I'm still trying to figure that one out…"

Clark laughed slightly as his friend's reporter side came through again. He stood, walked over to his desk, and tossed a magazine at Chloe. She caught it awkwardly and peered at the cover. On the front of the _Times_ magazine was a picture of Dr. Virgil Swann.

"Looks like you missed a couple breadcrumbs," Clark teased.

She laughed in confusion. "Clark, what does Virgil Swann have to do with this? He just studied life on… other planets…" she trailed off as the light bulb clicked in her head. She looked at Clark in awe. "Clark- are you saying you're… an alien?"

Clark laughed slightly and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "You said once that aliens would be a welcome change from people on Earth," he said, nervously.

Chloe looked Clark over for a moment, then shot up from the haystack and ran up to him. "Clark that's _amazing_! And it sure explains a lot…" she added, only half-teasing. "So can you speak alien? Can you write it? Do you know which planet you're from? Or maybe you're from a star? When did you come here? Is this your Earth form? Is there an alien form underneath your earthly skin?" she bombarded him.

"Chloe… Chloe!" Clark cried, interrupting his friend who suddenly seemed to need a massive dose of Ritalin. He grabbed her shoulders, insisting she calm down. "We need to check on Lana, okay? She's at the hospital."

"Right… right," Chloe agreed, taking a deep breath. "But you're gonna answer my questions later though, right? No more secrets between us?" she said in an accusatory tone.

Clark smiled slightly; he was relieved to break down the wall of secrets between them too. "No more secrets," he agreed. "Come on," he insisted, grabbing her arm.

Chloe and Clark waited in the reception area of the hospital impatiently. Both of them wondered how often they frequented this hospital each year. Clark tapped on his knees anxiously. He looked around and then, pondering Chloe's words about being in a human form, X-rayed his own arm. He let out a small sigh of relief.

Chloe smirked, not having missed his subtle action. "You just X-rayed yourself… didn't you?"

Clark blushed slightly. Thankfully, before he could make an excuse, the receptionist approached them. "She's ready to see you now," she explained.

Clark and Chloe quietly walked into Lana Lang's bedroom. "Hey Lana," Clark greeted, his brow furrowed in concern. "How are you feeling?"

"Pretty awful," she admitted, laughing harshly. "I'm lucky to be alive though," she added.

"I'll bet," Chloe agreed, looking pointedly at Lana's leg hoisted up onto a sling. "What is it with you and broken legs?"

"It's an expensive habit," she quipped. Her eyes suddenly looked downcast. "I heard about Jason…"

"Lana, I'm so sorry," Clark said softly as he bent down to her level. Chloe noted the tone of his voice curiously. He wasn't saying 'I'm sorry' in an 'I'm sorry your pet goldfish died' way, but like he thought _he_ was at fault. Chloe still had a lot of questions for her tall, alien friend, but she seriously doubted he was keeping murder from her.

"I just feel so guilty about everything…" Lana said. She thought of how she had handled her relationship with Jason. How she had loved him, but been drawn away by his all-too-familiar dishonest behavior. How she hadn't really worked things out with him, but instead went to Clark… feeling that he was at least the safer of the two. And she thought of Jason's mother, murdered at her hands.

"Guilty?" Chloe asked, incredulously. "Lana, he was killed by a meteor. I don't think you played any role in that."

Lana simply nodded. She didn't want Chloe… and especially Clark to know she had killed Jason's mother. She quickly tried to cover what she had said. "You're right. There's nothing I could have done about Jason…" she admitted, trailing off.

"Look Lana, you've been under a lot of stress. Maybe you should just rest a while," Chloe suggested, not grasping Lana's unusual behavior. Anyone else would have chalked it up to too much morphine, but being an investigative reporter, Chloe knew something else was brewing below the surface. Clark picked up on her unusual behavior as well.

"You sure you're alright Lana?" he coaxed gently.

Lana smiled at her friend's concern for her. "Yea, I'll be fine," she lied, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. "Just need to sleep."

"Alright, well call us if you need anything okay?" Clark added as he started to exit. Lana waited until Chloe had exited the room and grabbed onto Clark's arm as he was leaving.

"Clark, wait!" she called out. Clark stepped back into the room and walked up to Lana.

"Lana- what is it?" he asked, sensing this was serious.

"I saw something… when I was out there…"

"What was it?"

Lana sighed and looked into Clark's eyes. "Clark, I saw a spaceship…"


	3. A Not so Super Day for Clark Kent

Author's Note: Hey guess what? I've figured out what the heck I'm doing with this story! Yaaaaaaay! I'm kind of messing with Superman mythology so don't kill me! It's still going to be a Clark and Chloe story, though. They rock.

Chapter 3: A Not-so-Super Day for Clark Kent

Clark stumbled out of Lana's hospital room, stunned by the news he had received. He was so out of it that he nearly knocked into Lex Luthor. Lex gently put his hand to Clark's chest to keep him from walking into him. In the process, he shook some of the flowers in his hand and a few petals fell to the floor.

"Woah, watch it Clark. Are you alright?" Lex laughed.

"Yea… sorry Lex," Clark mumbled. He regarded the flowers in Lex's hand. "You're going to visit Lana?" he asked, trying to keep the distrust out of his voice. Clark was starting to suspect Lex's feelings toward Lana had grown past platonic, but he knew he shouldn't really dwell on that. I mean, Lex would never take Lana away from him… would he?

"Yea, heard she was caught in the big meteor shower," he regarded Clark suspiciously. "You seem to have gotten out unscathed, as usual" he commented, resisting the urge to ask Clark if he knew about the stones. He suspected Clark of stealing the stone in his mansion, of course, but what proof did he have? He grimaced slightly. Clark had no motive to take the stones anyway, he thought to himself.

Clark shrugged in response to his question. "Just lucky I guess."

"Yea… let's hope that luck never runs out, Clark," Lex muttered cryptically as he turned the knob on Lana's door and walked in.

Chloe had watched the exchange between Lex and Clark with a vested interest. She too wondered about Clark's connection to the stones. But bigger than that, Chloe wanted Clark to know how desperate Lex had been. How he had strong-armed her to the caves and suspected him… She walked up to Clark, seeing the worry etched on his face.

"Clark? What happened in there? Is Lana okay?" she asked.

"Yea..." he said, realizing he couldn't come up with fabrications anymore. He searched for the right words. "Look, Chloe-"

Suddenly a piercing sound rang through his ears. He grabbed his ears to stifle the noise and groaned. His parents, who had been sitting in the reception area waiting for him, walked up to Clark with concern. "Son, are you alright?" Jonathon asked, knowing the sound was usually a sort of calling. He eyed Chloe suspiciously; unaware she knew his son's secrets.

Clark was alarmed to hear a new voice in his head. "Hear me Kal-El, son of Krypton. I am Ominix and I mean to challenge you. Turn on channel 3," he declared.

With wide eyes, Clark turned to his parents. "Turn on channel 3," he instructed in a no-nonsense tone. Martha nodded and snatched the remote from the coffee table. She quickly switched to channel 3, wondering what she would see. Martha, Jonathon, Chloe, and especially Clark gazed intently at the television set. A tall Asian reporter appeared in the foreground, the Metropolis skyline unmistakable in the background.

"The Daily Planet has just sent us reports of mysterious deaths occurring right here in the city. This man says he was witness to one of these deaths just moments ago."

A smallish, balding man appears on screen. "Yea, my friend Sam just doubled over like someone had punched him in the gut, his eyes rolled back in his head, and he keeled over. Was the darndest thing, I-"

Suddenly, the man clutched his gut and made a horrid choking noise. "Oh God," he squealed as blood dripped from his mouth. He made a few gasps for air, and then collapsed to the ground.

"Sir? Sir!" the reporter called to him, terrified. She felt his pulse and looked at her cameraman with wide eyes. "He's dead."

Clark heard the voice in his head again. "I know you care about these people Kal-El. If you do not fight me I will kill one of them every hour," he threatened. Clark stared at his parents and Chloe, his eyes filled with fear.

"Mom, Dad, I have to do this," Clark insisted to his parents. Jonathon and Martha regarded Clark, unsure what to do. Chloe watched the family struggle with a keen interest, but kept her mouth shut. Clark had filled them in on everything. _Telepathy… this kid just has it all_, Chloe thought at first. Her awe soon turned to distress however as he revealed this new villain's intent. Mr. Kent took a breath.

"Clark, you don't even know who this Ominix is," he reminded Clark.

"If Lana's right and he came from a spaceship, he could be dangerous," Martha added.

"He's killing people Mom… I can't just sit here!" Clark argued through clenched teeth.

Jonathon relented. "Clark… just be careful," he advised his son. Clark nodded and was about to rush out the door when Chloe ran in front of him.

"Uhhh, wait! Clark!" she cried. "You're not going out like that, are you? I mean, the flannel's pretty much a red flag," she quipped, tentatively feeling the fabric on Clark's red flannel shirt.

"She's right, Clark. We can't risk anyone recognizing you," Martha agreed.

"What you need is a… a… costume!" Chloe exclaimed, accidentally slapping Clark as she whipped up her hand in excitement.

"Chloe, I can't just waltz into a Halloween store," Clark frowned.

"No, no," Chloe agreed, pacing around him. "But I mean… there must be _something_ around this old farmhouse we can use, c'mon!"

Martha nodded. "I think we keep some old costumes and masks in the barn," she realized, brightening at her own suggestion. A moment later she returned with a handful of costumes. The four of them began shuffling through the pile in anticipation. Chloe grasped one mask and grinned with a sadistic pleasure.

"Clark? Where is this one from?" she laughed.

Clark rolled his eyes and grimaced. It was a mask of one of an alien not unlike one you'd see in a B-rated horror movie. It was bright green with huge, shiny black eyes and a small mouth. Clark took the mask from Chloe and started to reminisce. "It was last Halloween. I told Pete my secret… he gave it to me as a joke," he explained, missing him a little. Chloe started to suspect that it may have been Clark's secret that drove Pete away. She bit her lip feeling sympathetic for Clark. She took the mask back from him and felt the cheap plastic in thought.

"Wear it," she coaxed him.

"What? Chloe, no!" he resisted.

"Oh c'mon, Clark! You're protecting your identity, remember? No one will know…"

Clark heard the voice in his head again. "I am waiting Kal-El…" He glanced up at the clock and saw that the hour was almost up. Out of options, he sighed, snatched the mask from Chloe, and sped out the door. Chloe smirked in triumph.

Clark wasn't entirely sure how to contact this new villain in his life. He surveyed Metropolis, but quickly realized that it would be futile to root him out in the large city. He needed a landmark that Ominix would recognize. Clark spied the Daily Planet building. Running at top speed so he could go unnoticed, Clark ran into the building and up the staircase to the rooftop. He looked down from the top of the building and suddenly remembered his fear of heights, feeling a bit queasy. Knowing he didn't have time to be afraid, Clark cleared his throat and yelled into the sky. "Ominix! I'm here! Come and fight me!" he belted out.  
In moments a tall, hulking extraterrestrial appeared before him. He looked very human, much like Clark, though his skin tone was a bit redder. Clark wondered if this was because Ominix lived on a particularly sunny planet or star... or if it was his fury showing through. Ominix surveyed Clark, curiously.

"You are Kal-El of Krypton?" he asked somewhat incredulously. Clark realized that Ominix was regarding his costume. He had decked out in a simple black outfit, topped off with the goofy alien mask. He guessed that Ominix knew his true appearance and had known how other Kryptonians looked. Well, he'd have to take Clark at his word. Who knows what would happen if the people of Metropolis got a closer look at the farm boy from Kansas and his amazing powers. He took a breath.

"I want you to stop killing people and leave," he said angrily.

Ominix smiled maliciously. With a quick movement he raised his arm and shot an energy beam at Clark. Caught off guard, Clark was knocked off the rooftop of the building and toppled toward the ground. A moment later, a few bystanders were shocked to see a man dressed in an alien mask flail off the rooftop, smash into the pavement, and stand up a moment later.

Ominix hardly gave Clark a chance to recover. He leapt off the roof, smashed into the ground, and marched up to his foe. Not giving him a chance to make another move, Clark charged Ominix into the wall of the Planet building with all his strength. Ominix grunted as his head smashed into the building. He mustered his considerable strength and again shot energy beams to push Clark backwards. Not having gauged his opponent's powers, he was shocked when Ominix suddenly become two… then three… then four. Clark zipped away as the four aliens started to attack.

The fight became even more difficult when large objects were suddenly thrown in his direction. The lampposts started to crash down on him: briefcases, knifes, and debris from shocked Metropolis pedestrians came flying in his direction. In the meantime, a Daily Planet reporter, who had witnessed the melee from his office, had brought a camcorder outside to record their battle. The objects could not hurt Clark, of course. He used his heat vision and speed to dodge them as best he could. Unfortunately, keeping track of four angry aliens with energy beams, random objects, and a far-too-eager Daily Planet reporter was a difficult job.

At last Onimix succeeded in pining Clark down with the energy beams. He grunted in pain and struggled against his grasp. "I tire of this, Kal-El," Ominix declared, arrogantly. He used his hand to manipulate another nearby object. Clark's eyes widened in fear as Ominix revealed a chunk of kryptonite. He tried in desperation to squirm from Onimix's hold on him, but failed. The chunk of meteor rock came smashing down onto his chest. And then everything went black…

Author's Note: Whew! I've never written a long battle sequence before. I really, really hope the bad guy wasn't too cheesy… I'll try to have the next chapter up by tomorrow!


	4. Somebody Save Me

Author's Note: Hmmm, I guess I lied about having the second chapter up the next day… oops! First off, this is chapter is very much 'action' if you go for that I hope you'll enjoy this! Another thing about this chapter: I sort of gave the effects of Kryptonite some wiggle room here. But hey, if you can forgive the Smallville writers for allowing Clark to drink Kryptonite without dying (_Devoted_) then you can forgive me, right?

Chapter 4: Somebody Save Me

Luckily for young Clark Kent, Jonathon, Martha, and Chloe had witnessed his battle on the television and were aware of his current condition. Within moments, the Kent household was in a panic. Even Shelby sensed the tenseness in the room and had begun pacing the house. The Kents were engaging in a verbal battle over their fallen son.

"We've got to rescue him, Martha, he's in danger," Jonathon argued.

"Of course we do Jonathon, don't you think I know that? Just how are we supposed to save Clark without the whole world suspecting there's something different about him?" Martha rationalized.

"We'll worry about that later Martha, right now I think rescuing Clark is our top priority. Let's… get in the car," he decided.

Chloe, who was silently watching the exchange between Clark's anxious parents, stepped forward at Mr. Kent's words. She took a breath, feeling a bit nervous about defying the Kents. "Mr. Kent, I don't think that's such a good idea," she protested.

Jonathon sighed in exasperation, feeling unsure about Chloe's newfound knowledge of Clark's secret. "Chloe, this does not concern you. That meteor rock will kill him. We need to rescue our son."

"I know… but I think you'd get there much faster… on a Luthor jet," she suggested. Jonathon still felt uneasy about Lex Luthor, but he relented, realizing the gravity of the situation. He nodded his approval to Chloe. With that, she took out her cell phone and began dialing Lex.

"Hey, Lex?"

"Chloe… how are you?" Lex answered; surprised by her call considering the way he strong armed her back in the cave. He felt a pang of guilt at his previous actions.

"I'm fine. Look Lex, we kind of have a situation here."

_Ahhh, they want my help. Of course_, Lex thought to himself. Trying not to act hurt, he cleared his throat, and "How can I help?"

"It's Clark. He… got wounded during the meteor shower. Smallville Medical was so booked that they took him to Metropolis General. We have to get to him. Please, Lex."

Lex contemplated Chloe's words. If she was telling him the truth, then it wasn't Clark in the caves after all. Was she lying to him? Still, whether Chloe was telling the truth or not, if Clark was in danger he wanted to help. "Stop by the mansion Chloe… we'll figure this out," he offered.

Chloe breathed in relief at his offer. She offered the Kents a hopeful smile. Then she grabbed her jacket and moved toward the door. "Let's go!" she ordered; her tone serious. The Kents didn't have to be asked twice.

An hour later, the Kents, Chloe, and Lex were on a plane to Metropolis. Lex tapped his fingers on his knees as he eyed the Kents suspiciously. He sighed and pulled out his cell phone. "Let me call Metropolis General and make sure Clark is getting the best treatment possible," he offered.

"Lex, uhhh," Mr. Kent cleared his throat. "That's not necessary. I'm sure he's okay. We just… need to get to him."

Lex nodded, stung by another of Mr. Kent's refusals, and closed the lid on his cell. Chloe bit her lip, wondering how they were going to pull this off without making Lex feel suspicious… and wondering how much he knew already. She peered out the window, recognizing all of Metropolis's landmarks from her memorable summers working at the Planet. A huge crowd of people became visible even from high up in the jet. _Clark_. Somebody was sure to discover Clark's secret if she didn't stop them… immediately. She banged her hands against the pane of the window. "Lex, do you think we could land at the hangar at the Luthercorp building?"

Lex scowled at her suggestion. "Chloe, that hangar is for helicopters. The Metropolis airport is only ten minutes away."

Chloe searched for a logical explanation. "I know! Of course… but… hey! Look out the window!" Sighing, Lex leaned forward to Chloe's window and peered out. He seemed surprised by the crowd stretching into the streets as well. "Let's just say my reporter instincts are getting the best of me," she quipped and flashed him a nervous grin.

Luckily, Lex's curiosity was just as intense as Chloe's when it came to the weird and unexplained. He nodded to her and walked over to the cockpit. "Hey, Steve? Can you land on top of the Luthercorp Building?"

"Sir? The airport's only-"

"Just do it," he ordered. Steve complied.

Upon arriving at the scene, the Kents and Chloe huddled together as they watched the crowd poke and prod at the unusual alien before them… dressed like a human boy. The ground was cracked and broken, implements were scattered about, and shards were scattered across the pavement from Clark's tussle with his alien foe. The crowd stumbled about the loose debris as the moved toward the creature before them. "Oh God Jonathon, someone's going to remove that mask," Martha gasped in fear.

"I'll handle this," Chloe said confidently, pushing a piece of hair out of her face. "Don't worry Mrs. Kent, when you've been in as many near-death situations as I have, putting on hysterics comes pretty naturally." Mrs. Kent gave Chloe a confused look, but soon received her answer.

"_HELP! HELP!"_ Chloe screamed and threw herself to the floor. "It's after me! It's after me!" The crowd heard her desperate pleas and started to diverge in her direction, away from Clark's fallen figure. Lex had hung back and was witnessing Chloe's performance with much amusement. Why did Chloe find it necessary to pry the public away from this obviously dangerous alien creature? He tried to reach the alien, but was pushed back by the eager crowd rushing to save Chloe from her invisible assailant.

In the meantime, the Kents had pushed away the shards of kryptonite that clung to Clark's body, snatched him by the arms, and began pulling him away from the Planet building and the excitable crowd. "Jonathon, what are we going to do? We can't fly Lex's jet out of here…"

"I know Martha," Jonathon agreed. His eyes diverted to a van parked across the street with its door open. Martha followed his eyes and gasped in shock.

"Jonathon! We can't _steal_ another person's car!" she insisted.

"Martha, this may be the only way to save Clark's life," Jonathon reasoned. Martha scowled, and then pulled Clark toward the van with greater vigor. They scurried across the streets, un-noticed, then hoisted Clark up in the air and flung him into the van. He landed with a resounding thud that made the Kent looks around, paranoid. They then jumped into the van themselves. Jonathon started to make his way to the front seat. He checked the ignition… no keys. Sighing, Jonathon felt his way under the dashboard to search for the wires.

"Don't tell me you know how to hot-wire a car," Martha scowled, disapprovingly.

"Just like working on a tractor," Jonathon smiled deviously as he touched the wires together. The engine roared to life and he grinned triumphantly. He grabbed the steering wheel, and then made a U-turn so fast that the tires squealed in protest. Martha tried to slam the van doors shut as fast as she could, but the doors were a bit rusty and the doors only closed halfway. She frowned and pulled Clark's body behind the doors, realizing this must have been the reason the doors were open in the first place.

Unfortunately, the squeal of the tires alerted the public. Their attention turned away from the eccentric blonde babbling about the alien who tried to attack her and back to the spot where the unconscious alien had laid still. Realizing there must be a connection to the van, the crowd began to descend upon the van. Seeing that they had drawn the attention of the crowd, Mr. Kent kicked the van into high gear.

Chloe frowned; she knew the Kents had to get Clark to safety, but she hated to be left out of their most recent adventure. Gauging the traffic and the speed of the van, Chloe sprinted across the street. She then began to run alongside the van, waving her arms at Mr. Kent. Jonathon frowned hoping Chloe wasn't going to try to do what she appeared to want to do. In a second, his fears were realized. He did his best to slow the car and tilt it in her direction as Chloe made a flying leap into the entrance of the doors. She managed to wedge her torso into the van, while her legs kicked into the air. She clawed the floor mat for dear life, contemplating the wisdom of her actions. Luckily Martha had also noted Chloe's leap and pulled the rest of her into the van out of harm's way.

Without mentioning her most recent stunt, Chloe turned to Mrs. Kent. "How's he doing?" she asked, taking deep breaths.

Martha put her hand against Clark's chest. "He-he's breathing, but very faintly," she said in a small voice, her eyes brimming with tears. Chloe frowned and ripped the mask from Clark's face. His face and hair were covered in sweat and his face was a pallid complexion. She looked toward Mrs. Kent with fear in her eyes. Mrs. Kent didn't return Chloe's worried look, but instead started to rip off Clark's shirt. Frowning, she noticed the problem.

Parts of Clark's chest were pulsating an eerie green glow. Mrs. Kent realized that some of the kryptonite shards must have entered Clark's chest. "Jonathon!" she called to her husband, is there anything in the drawers? Jonathon frowned, opened the bin, and began shifting through the bin while keeping one hand on the wheel. His hands tightened around hidden cigarette lighter, which he handed to Mrs. Kent.

"C'mon Martha, you're going to need to cut in," he instructed her, having been through the same procedure to dislodge a kryptonite bullet from his son's chest.

"With what Jonathon?" she asked testily. "There's nothing here." At that, Chloe pulled out her Swiss Army knife. Martha raised an eyebrow, not expecting Chloe to carry such an item.

"Lois said I might need it someday," she shrugged and held the blade. Martha began heating the blade with the lighter Jonathon had found as she stared at the knife intently. Once the blade was sufficiently warm, she turned back to Clark. She frowned; Martha was a city girl and she had always been rather squeamish around blood. Chloe sensed Martha's inhibitions; she looked back at Clark's glowing chest and took a breath.

"I'll do it," she declared. Martha looked at her in shock.

"Chloe, you don't have to do this…"

"Yes I do Mrs. Kent. Your son has saved me so many times, I'm just trying to return the favor," she claimed. She gulped, focused on a green spot on his chest, closed her eyes, and plunged the knife in.

Meanwhile, Lex had watched Chloe's daring jump into the van and instantly guessed there was some kind of connection between the absence of the alien and the Kents. What were they hiding from him? Lex decided it was time he found out. He raised his hand and hailed a taxi. When a taxi pulled alongside the street, Lex placed his hand on the window and addressed the driver. "Follow that van," he ordered and stuffed a few large bills into the driver's sweaty palms. He then entered the taxi and closed the door hastily. The driver, quite pleased by his newfound wealth, eagerly began to take off after the van.

Jonathon frowned as he noticed the taxi in his rearview mirror. He sighed and addressed the ladies in back of him. "How's it coming?" he asked, trying to keep his voice calm.

Chloe winced as she pulled out a second kryptonite shard from Clark's chest, her hands now covered in blood from her amateur surgery. She wiped her dirty hands on her jeans and surveyed her subject again. "It's… just great Mister Kent," she said sarcastically as she tentatively touched the two remaining green spots. She took a breath, trying to overcome the most recent wave of nausea and she prepared the knife a third time. Martha patted Chloe's back in support as she moved the bloody shards away from her sick son.

"Good, because we've got company," Jonathon stated. Martha, shocked at the news, stood to view their mysterious tailgater. She turned to the window in the back of the van, and then gasped as she got a good look at the occupant of the taxi.

"Jonathon, it's Lex," she informed him. Worried about her ailing friend, and still suspicious of Lex, Chloe plunged the knife into Clark's chest in frustration.

"Then I would suggest you move faster," she muttered. Martha was surprised of Chloe's newfound distrust of Lex Luthor, but Mr. Kent was not. He complied to Chloe's suggested and pressed the accelerator even harder. They soared through the streets, ran a red light, and everything around them became a blur. The van thumped uncomfortably through a large speed bump and everybody groaned in discomfort… including young Clark Kent. Martha began stroking Clark's hair at the sound of his voice.

"Clark, honey? You've gotta hold on baby, alright?" she cooed as she looked into his eyes. Clark's eyes cracked open ever-so-slightly as he registered his mother's image.

"Mom," he whispered. They shared a moment and smiled at each other. For a brief moment, everything seemed fine. Then Jonathon's voice called from the front.

"Martha?"

"Jonathon…" she answered, wondering which worst case scenario had come true today.

"The bridge is out."


	5. The Challenge

Chapter 5: The Challenge

Author's Note: Wow, I think it was almost a year since I started this story. But I've gotten requests for it, which I really appreciate!  I've very sorry I neglected the story. It was terrible of me. I am out of school for a while though and I promise to work diligently on finishing the story. It's all pretty much worked out in my head. Despite the fact this fic takes place way back in the beginning of the season and will definitely conflict with the season, I hope you'll stay tuned. It's a Clark/Chloe fic after all and we love them right? (Especially after the finale!)

"Jonathan, you have to turn back! We can't make it!" Martha pleaded.

"Honey, Lex Luthor is right on our tail and I'll be damned if he'll find out Clark's secret," he said defiantly. "Besides, I think we can make it."

"Look Mrs. Kent, I haven't been part of the Kent cabal for very long so maybe I'm not privy to your family's inside jokes. He's kidding, right?" Chloe asked.

"Chloe, just focus on Clark, alright? I can do this," Jonathan insisted. _My boy's not the only hero around here, _he thought as he stepped on the accelerator.

Chloe's head whipped around as she witnessed Mr. Kent's defiant look. Nodding, she turned to her patient and stared him with new conviction. Clark gave her a weakened, confused look. Chloe bit her lip. Pressing one hand on Clark's forehead and gripping the knife in the other, she declared, "Don't worry Clark, it'll all be over soon."

As the Kent's stolen vehicle defied gravity and soared over the open bridge, Chloe dove the knife into Clark's chest one last time. Clark screamed in agony, Martha screamed in terror, a bead of sweat dripped down Jonathan's forehead, and a stunned Lex Luthor watched the van crash into the other side of the bridge in shock as his driver stomped on the brake. Chloe smiled as she fingered the bloody kryptonite fragment in triumph.

Martha smiled in admiration at her husband. Then she reached over the passenger's seat and popped open the glove compartment, hoping to find something to help stop her son's excessive bleeding. She snatched up the small tissue box inside and began furiously wiping his chest. Clark began breathing regularly and struggled to sit up. He peered out the back window of the van, just in time to see a vision of Lex screeching at his taxi driver fading off in the distance.

Hours later, the van pulled up at the Kent farm. The gang was so pleased to be home that they didn't even notice the extra car pulled up on their driveway. Clark exited the van with his mother struggling to hold his weight. "Mom, I'm fine, really," Clark insisted as he gently pulled away.

"You're fine! I'm soaked in _your_ blood and you're just honky dory? How exactly does that work?" Chloe said, incredulously.

"You've got a lot of learn, Chloe," Jonathan laughed, recalling the day he saved his son from a kryptonite bullet. He turned to his son. "Look son, maybe next time you face a villain from another planet you'll look before you leap?"

"I had to Dad, he was just gonna-"

"Chloe! Smallville! Mr. Kent! Mrs. Kent! Thank God!" Lois exclaimed, embracing Clark, then Chloe.

"Lois, what are you doing here?" Chloe asked as she eased out of her cousin's tight hold.

"I saw the Kent's house on fire at the edge of town. I've been trying to call you guys since the meteor shower. Seriously guys, I know we live out in the middle of nowhere but let's get in touch with technology okay?" she said, exasperated as she held out her cell phone for everyone to see.

"We're sorry honey," Martha crooned, embracing Lois. "We've just been busy trying to rebuild and…"

"God, you look awful Smallville. What the hell happened to you?" Lois scrunched her face as she scrutinized Clark's bare and bloody chest. Clark scowled and opened his mouth to spout off another excuse.

"Uhh… debris! Debris. Yeah, Clark was caught out during the shower and some debris just sort of flew… at him," Chloe covered awkwardly.

"Well, we didn't have the National Guard out for their own health. What were you thinking?" she inquired.

"I'm glad you're safe, Lois," Clark answered, rolling his eyes as he self-consciously rubbed his chest. She smiled back.

"Lois, why don't you stay for dinner?" Martha offered.

"Ahhh, no thanks. I've stayed long enough. I'm supposed to be with the General by now. He's gonna be pissed when she sees I ran off," she fumbled, reluctantly. "But I wouldn't mind some snacks for the road if you've got anything lying around."

"Help yourself Lois," Jonathan coaxed her as he made his way toward the couch.

"I'll help you look," Chloe offered as she sprinted toward her cousin.

A few minutes later, Clark and Chloe convened at the loft…

"Thanks for what you did Chloe," Clark said as he walked over to his desk and began absently shuffling papers.

"Well, it wasn't exactly a walk in the park, but I was glad to help," she smiled as she sat wistfully on the couch, tugging at her pant leg.

"He's going to come back, you know. He's not going to go away."

"Yea, but next time you'll be ready for him, right? I mean, come on… I've seen you beat dozens of meteor freaks without lifting a finger."

"It's different this time," Clark sighed, sitting on the couch next to her. "I don't know what I'm up against."

"Luckily for you, you have all these amazing abilities," Chloe added, her eyes dazzling in admiration. Clark smiled slightly back at her, then sighed and looked down at his hands.

"You know, there is one way you can improve your chances with this guy… just so we don't have another crazy car chase or near death experience in the future."

"What do you mean?"

"Clark, have you ever tested your limits?"


	6. Chapter 6: The Many Trials of Clark Kent

Chapter 6: The Many Trials of Clark Kent

Author's Note: Here's the next chapter! I'm going to try to be more consistent with this story and have it up by the end of the week.  I've been working on this one for a while though. I make a lot of reference of previous episodes so if you're not a super-fan you may miss a couple of them!

The next day, Clark bounded down the stairs, eager to have some breakfast.

"Mom? What'd you make today? I'm starving!" he chirped. He stopped abruptly as he noticed Chloe sitting with the Kents at the table. "Chloe… what are you doing here?"

Chloe shoved a plate of pancakes at him. "Come on Clark, breakfast of champions!"

"Chloe- its 7 a.m. I still have chores to do," Clark said uneasily as began piling his plate.

"That's okay Clark," Jonathan assured him, slapping him on the back. "Chloe's right. I think it's… an excellent idea."

"You're lucky to have her watching out for you," Martha smiled at Chloe and poured her a glass of orange juice.

"Besides, you have… a lot of abilities. This is probably going to take all day," Chloe added, sipping her orange juice. "I mean, let's face it, you're not your average meteor freak-" Realizing her faux pas, she quickly put down her glass. Clark looked at her uneasily. "That is to say… alien! You're not your average… alien. I mean not that I'd know, but- maybe, maybe I'll shut up now."

There was an awkward pause as the Kents stared into their plates. Thankfully, Martha broke the silence. "So, Chloe- what did you have in mind for the first, uhhh, test?"

"Trial. Trial, Mom. No one's getting tested on here," Clark interrupted with a noticeable edge in his voice.

"Right, trial. Well, I figured we could maybe start with the superspeed!" she suggested.

Clark swallowed his mouthful and raised an eyebrow. "What you mean like, run around the track?"

Chloe put her fork down, pulled in her chair, and whipped out a fancy new stopwatch. "I was thinking something a little more creative," she declared deviously. "Now, I seem to recall something interesting, while under being under the influence of a krypto-truth serum. You and Pete were talking about some guy's game night: Pete provided the entertainment and you… made a twenty minute trip to Metropolis for some hot dogs."

"Clark! What if someone saw you?" Jonathan admonished.

"Dad… no one saw me," he protested.

"Nevertheless, I couldn't help but think… twenty minutes? Well, that's a little slow for you, isn't it?" she prodded, smugly.

"Chloe, Metropolis is three hours away. Besides, I had to wait in line for the hot dogs," Clark shrugged.

"I'm still new to my best friend being part of the super-powered persuasion, but if I'm not mistaken you saved me from Mxyzptlk and had time to score the winning touchdown in one of the football games," she recalled.

"Clark…" Jonathon growled. "We discussed this."

"Mr. Kent, I'm gonna borrow your son for just a minute," Chloe fumbled, grasping Clark by the arm. She eagerly pulled him into the living room.

"Chloe! You have no idea how much trouble I'm in," he hissed as soon as they were out of earshot.

"He'll get over it, Clark," she brushed him off, pressing her hands on his chest. "The point is: I'm willing to bet you can break that old record."

"So you want me to run over to Metropolis to get some hot dogs?" he asked, skeptically.

"Please Clark, we just ate."

Clark nodded in agreement.

"Get me a bouquet of flowers. Tulips." Clark looked at her perplexed for a moment. "Go!" she insisted. He rolled his eyes and sped out the door with a loud _whoosh, _while Chloe clicked her stopwatch triumphantly.

While Clark sped off to Metropolis, Chloe overheard the heated conversation in the next room. She peered into the door frame, her curiosity getting the best of her yet again.

"Martha, Clark has to learn to use his powers responsibly. We agreed he could play football if he didn't use his powers to cheat," Jonathan protested, gripping the countertop in frustration.

"It's not your decision anymore, Jonathan. Clark is an adult now and it's up to him to make those decisions!" Martha argued.

Chloe bit her lip and chimed in. "Mr. Kent, I know it's none of my business, but maybe… maybe you shouldn't be so hard on Clark."

"Chloe, I understand why you want to protect Clark, but cheating is not something I can condone," Jonathan retorted sternly.

"I know that Mr. Kent. And Clark did too. Isn't that why he quit football last year?" Martha smiled and nodded in agreement. Chloe took a breath and continued. "Maybe it was wrong for Clark to play football, but he was always so happy and free on the field. I just wonder if he's ever felt so happy with his powers, instead of feeling, well, alienated."

"Clark has always wanted to be normal… ever since he found out," Martha explained.

Jonathan scowled and ran a hand through his hair. "Look Chloe, I want Clark to be happy with who he is too. But I'll always worry about what could happen if anyone found out. You don't know what we've been through."

Chloe knitted her brow. "You mean… people have already tried to exploit Clark?"

"Twice. Once a dirty cop named Phelan tried to get Clark to do his bidding in exchange for keeping his secret. Then the day of the tornado Nixon, this investigator, threatened to expose Clark to the world," Martha explained sadly.

"How did he find out his secret?"

"He rigged my tractor and blew it up with Clark inside. When Clark wasn't dead, Nixon caught it all on videotape. He thought it was the story of a lifetime," Jonathan added.

"God I'm so sorry…" Chloe sympathized. "I didn't realize-"

_Whoosh_! Chloe felt the wind tickle her neck and a few blonde strands fly into her face. Startled, she turned to see an array of red and black checkered plaid in front of her eyes. Clark beamed down at her, handing her a bouquet of flowers. Smiling up at her friend, she clicked the button on her stopwatch.

"3:59… boy you were holding out on Pete!" she declared, impressed. Clark blushed slightly, and then straightened up.

"Is that it?"

"Actually," Chloe sniffed her bouquet for a moment before continuing. "Do you know how much time you spent at the flower shop?"

Clark shrugged. "I didn't really keep track. I had to figure out where one was and then, well, then I had to figure out what color to get," he admitted sheepishly.

"So do you know how long it would take to get to Metropolis without any of this stuff? How bout one more run to, I don't know, the Daily Planet?" she suggested almost instinctively.

He scowled uncomfortably in response.

"C'mon Clark, it's for science!" she coaxed, in her perky way. She clicked her watch as he disappeared in a blur once again.

She blinked twice as she waited for her super-powered friend. She was quite shocked when he darted in front of her moment later. She clicked her stopwatch and stared at him with skepticism in her eyes. "Clark, I said the Daily Planet… not the Talon."

He raised an eyebrow, surprised by her reaction. "Chloe, I just came back from there. Why? How long was that?"

"Three."

"Minutes?"

"Seconds."

Clark raised an eyebrow and smirked with pride, while the Kents and Chloe stared in admiration.

"I can't wait to see what's up ahead," Chloe smiled eagerly.

After much adulation and praise from the Kents, who were clearly in awe of their son's ability, Chloe moved on to the second trial. The two friends stood in the Kent barn surrounded by the hay, pitchforks, and other various farm implements. Chloe stood in front of the red chest of drawers surrounded by an acoustic pulse generator, an acoustic pickup, a set of amplifiers, a delay timer, and an indicating display, and two walky talkies.

"Alright Chloe, why are we here? And what is all this stuff?"

"'Hear' is the operative word, Mr. Kent. You're looking at the newest sonar technology! It measures the intensity of sounds by measuring reflected acoustic sound waves. If I can just calibrate it right and analyze the LCD read out, we can figure out just how well those ears can hear. A gift from a certain cousin of mine whose dad works in the military. If she asks, we went fishing," she explained, toggling with the cord. "Got any whale in you Clark?"

"Wait a minute, I understand about the superspeed and the strength, but how did you know about the sound?" he asked, propping his arm against a wood post.

"Alright, confession time: do you remember when you lost your memory last year? That kid Kevin had the ability to do a mind sweep?"

"The kid who robbed the Talon," he nodded. "I remember you helped look after me and I asked you if I did anything unusual. So, wait… you lied to me?"

"Well, you can't really can't really blame me for that can you, Clark? I mean, I had to show you how you handled your abilities in case someone figured them out or you accidentally exposed them. Besides, I don't think you're one to pass judgment about honesty," she emphasized her point, putting her hands on her hips.

He sighed. "I guess not…

"Hey, don't worry about that, okay? Let's just concentrate on the task at hand: hearing. Have you ever tested it before?" she asked, fiddling with the transducer.

"Well, when I first got it we practiced in the barn. My dad put on all the equipment and I heard him whisper…"

"Alright so we can skip that step and- wait you have to practice all of your abilities? I thought you said you were born this way."

"I am… it's just that, well, they don't all develop at once."

"Sort of like super puberty?"

"Chloe…"

"I'm sorry, Clark, but wow. That's really interesting. Guess we're lucky no un-natural disasters happened between then and now."

"Yea… if you don't want to call almost burning down the Talon a disaster," he admitted sheepishly putting his hands in his pockets.

"Riiiight, the heat vision. Clark Kent, arsonist. Who da thunk it? Okay, let's try distance hearing. I'll stay here and you can run to the end of the farm. Here, take one of these," she instructed, handing him a walky talky. "I'll tell you something and you radio in and tell me what you heard. No cheating… God what am I saying? Talking to a boy scout like you."

He smiled slightly at her comment and took the walky talky in his hands. He was off in a blur. Chloe felt awkward as she whispered into the air, "How are the cows, Clark?"

Clark buzzed in a moment later, "They're a bit irritated. Probably didn't get milked this morning."

She smirked and tried to change her tone to business-like. "Alright, give me a minute to take a reading… and we can try it from further out," she explained as she took a measurement. After a couple minutes of fiddling with the equipment, Chloe picked up her walky talky and called Clark. "Got it. Alright Clark, let's try the Talon."

In a blur, Clark made it to the Talon and stood inconspicuously near the cash register as if he had been there the whole time. He focused his hearing to pick up Chloe's voice among the crowds. "Can you get me a soy latte when you're done?" she whispered.

"You want cream in that?" he buzzed back, proudly.

"Great!" she exclaimed, tapping on the equipment again. "Alright, how about a tough one. Are you up for another run to Metropolis?"

"Sure… I may spill your latte though. Hey Mom, can you stash this behind the counter? Okay, thanks. See ya, Chloe."

After she clocked three seconds, then she whispered again. "Clark, is the Daily Planet busy? Clark?" She waited and repeated the message after 5 seconds, then six. Growing worried, she tried to buzz in Clark from her walky talky. She sighed and flung it to the floor, realizing the little instrument didn't reach that far out. Finally, she flipped her phone and dialed Clark. He picked up on the first ring.

"Chloe?"

"Clark, what happened? I've been calling. Are you at the Planet?"

"… yeah. It's just… I couldn't hear you," he admitted, despondently.

"Look Clark, it's okay. Just come home, we'll figure it out," she said softly.

Clark zipped in, in what felt like less than three seconds. Chloe approached him and showed him the read-out. "Now I'm not sure I'm reading it right… since sonar's really supposed to be an underwater thing, but if I'm right I could have clocked 60 Hz."

"That's great Chloe," he muttered softly.

"Clark what is it?"

"Nothing… I guess I, really thought I could hear that far," he sighed, handing her latte to her and stuffing a hand his pocket.

She took the latte and put a hand on his shoulder. "Look Clark, 60 Hz is great. I mean, the lowest your average person can hear is 100 Hz. So you… don't have the hearing of a humpback whale. It's still really impressive."

Clark seemed to perk up at her words. "Really?"

"Of course. Look, we've got one more trial and then we'll know what you can do." She grabbed him by the sleeve and starting leading him to her red Beetle.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see. You trust me don't you?" she asked, opening the front door of her car.

"Of course," he assured her, as opened the passenger door.

"Good. It's about time," she said as she turned the key in the ignition.

Author's Note: Pssst, I have no idea if sonar actually works on land. But I googled and researched what equipment Chloe should use for like a half hour so take it with a grain of salt! (I did check out what Chloe using in "Jinx" but that was a _higher_ frequency so I didn't think that would work…).

What does Chloe have in store for Clark? And how's he going to win? You'll see!


	7. Chapter 7: Possibilities

Chapter 7: Possibilities

Clark slammed the passenger door as he gauged their location. He squinted as he gazed at the dirt road and tanks lined up in a row staring ominously into the parking lot. "Wait a minute, I know this place. I came here when I was trying to track you down last year with…"

"Hey, Smallville!" Lois greeted him as she began walking in their direction.

Clark tried to repress his audible sigh, "Hey Lois." Lois ignored him and greeted Chloe with a hug.

"Now Chloe, remind me again whether it was a lack of sleep from all that reporting or a sugar high that possessed you to ask me to tour the compound," Lois asked, raising one eyebrow skeptically.

Chloe shrugged innocently. "Any excuse to visit my favorite cousin!"

"Alright spill it. Don't tell me it's a big military/government cover-up because I think you ought to leave that expose up to the professionals…"

She laughed awkwardly, knowing Lois wasn't buying her excuse. Clark saw her nervousness and cleared his throat. "Actually Lois, Chloe said knowing about your, uhhh, background would give me some insight into… you. It'd be good for our-our… friendship."

Lois seemed pleased by Clark's feeble explanation. "Really? Well, what are we waiting for then?" She turned on her heel and started marching toward the military base.

"Good job, Clark. You pulled one of the many great journalist methods of getting what you want."

"Really? And what's that?"

"When all else fails, appeal to the ego," she smirked and dashed off to walk alongside her cousin. Clark smiled back, a bit proud of himself.

Lois scratched her head, still a bit confused by what was happening. "So what is it you to want to know? The bases, the routine, the marches, the compound…"

"We were sort of interested in the aircraft," Chloe interjected.

"The aircraft?" Lois repeated, stopping mid-walk.

"Yea… is that a problem?"

"Not at all… I'll tell you everything you need to know. Coming Smallville?" she called back.

"Yeah," Clark replied, sprinting a little to catch up. Like Lois, he was also rather befuddled at what was going on around them.

"God, that boy is sloooow as molasses," she muttered.

"You have no idea," Chloe nodded sympathetically, sharing a small smile to herself.

The three walked on for what seemed like an eternity before stopping at a huge chain link fence. A big hulking guard stood at the entrance, holding a large, bulky gun his hands. Compared to him, Clark almost looked puny. Lois, however, sauntered right up to him and flashed the ID card dangling on her neck.

"I'm Lois Lane, daughter of Sam Lane, and these are my friends," she declared.

The huge guard seemed nervous at the mention of Sam Lane. He pulled down his weapon and opened the gate for Lois, without hesitation. "Go right in Miss Lane," he instructed, eying Chloe and Clark warily.

Lois smiled smugly and waved her hand at the planes in the airpark. "Beautiful aren't they?" She pointed to a particularly angular, pointed plane, which resembled a paper airplane in shape. "The F-14 _Tomcat_ is a supersonic, twin-engine, variable sweep wing; two-place fighter designed to attack and destroy enemy aircraft at night and in all weather conditions. The F-14 can track up to 24 targets simultaneously with its advanced weapons control system. Pretty cool huh?"

"Wow," Clark muttered.

"Lois, since when do you know so much about airplanes?" Chloe inquired, impressed by Lois's spontaneous speech.

"You know, I've always thought it was cool to be able to fly. To take off into the air with just the wind against your back… the clouds in front of you," Lois appeared lost in thought for a moment. She quickly snapped out of her reverie. "Not that the General would ever let me touch one of these. Very expensive." Clark regarded Lois curiously, wondering what she would think if she knew he once flew through the air.

"How much do you think one of these suckers would weigh?" Chloe asked.

"This guy? Would probably carry up to 72… 73 thousand pounds," she explained. "But if you're asking about weight I'd ask about one these bad boys." She ran to the far end of the lot looking for her treasured plane. Chloe and Clark regarded each other for a moment, and then chased after her.

"This, my friends, is a jumbo jet. It can weight up to three hundred thousand pounds!" she explained, excitement twinkling in her eyes. Chloe nodded, also impressed. Lois prattled on for a while longer, telling them all the different kinds of planes. Chloe and Clark started to get bored after a while and Clark regarded his watch inconspicuously. Picking up on his boredom, Chloe interrupted Lois's lecture.

"Actually Lois, I was thinking we should get on the road. Got a long drive back to Smallville."

"Oh well, it's almost dark already; you guys should stay the night," Lois suggested.

Clark's eyes almost bugged out in protest. "You know Lois, that's okay… we do have a long drive…"

Lois rolled her eyes and pleaded to her cousin. "Come on Chloe, I've got to spend the rest of the summer tracking down Lucy with the General. Do you have any idea how awkward that's going to be?"

"Well if you insist," she smirked, flinging her purse over her shoulder. Lois smiled triumphantly and started to lead them toward the base. Clark was confused… if he didn't know any better he'd think that this was Chloe's plan all along. He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her aside.

"Chloe, we're not really staying here are we?"

"Calm down, Clark… this is all part of the plan." Clark sighed and reluctantly tagged along behind the two cousins.

The three friends ended up bunking down in one of the compounds. They chit chatted until Lois finally passed out. Clark closed his eyes, attempting to sleep and muttering something about not bringing a toothbrush. Just as he started to drift off, he felt a sharp tug on his bright red jacket.

"Clark! Get up!" Chloe hissed.

Clark stumbled out of bed and rubbed his eyes. "Chloe? What's going on?"

"Now c'mon Clark, we didn't come all the way out here to have Lois go all Wright Brothers on us for no reason," she explained, tugging him outside the door. She led him back down to the fence, splashing up mud as they scurried along. Chloe eyed the guard, still on watch and sighed. "Damnit... Clark do you think you could tear open the wires?"

Clark yawned. "No need… I can probably jump the fence," he mumbled hoarsely.

"Wha… it's like ten feet… never mind. Just be careful, okay?" she advised. He nodded and grabbed her in his arms. He ducked down, gathering energy waves around him and shot up into the air. He safely and easily made the jump, but landing less gracefully than expected.

Clark and Chloe quickly ducked under one of the larger planes. The guard walked the aisles, with his flashlight, on the look-out for the strange noise. He then began shining his flashlight on the fence, hoping to find some point of entry. After a few minutes, he shrugged and went back to his post.

"Okay Clark, let's see if you really are the Man of Steel," she quipped. "Think you can lift that F-14 Lois liked so much?"

"That thing's a couple tons, Chloe..."

"Yea and I'm betting the lab Lex dropped on us last year was probably a couple tons too. Now try it out," she coaxed him.

Clark rolled his eyes. Easier said than done. He didn't even know where to lift it. Super powers or not, if he dented the military plane he knew his family would be much more debt than they had been in the past. He searched for the wheels of the plane, knowing they must provide some soft of balance. He reached down and grasped the wheels in his hands. With some effort, Clark began lifting the large plane by the wheels and hoisting it up on his shoulders. He grunted with effort and successfully lifted up the giant aircraft. Chloe could do nothing but stare in awe for a moment.

The guard turned around from his post, warily. He had been at his shift for hours and was unhappy he had to work the night shift again. He yawned and turned back to the planes. At the very end of the parking lot he thought he saw the F-14, his favorite, in the air… by a teenager. He rubbed his eyes, thinking he must be dreaming. When he looked again, the airplane stood as it always had been. The guard scratched his head. He must have been dreaming.

Chloe and Clark now stood in front of the jumbo jet. Clark again reached for the wheels of the plane. He struggled to lift the jet, putting all of his weight into it. Chloe turned in the other direction, for a moment suddenly noticing the guard squinting in their direction. "Clark, we gotta go," she whispered.

From his vantage point in the pitch dark, the guard could barely make out the jumbo jet. He thought he had seen some movement in that direction though. For all he knew, he was just a curious animal… but it appeared suspicious to him.

"No… I can do it," he insisted. He finally succeeded in lifting the jet up barely an inch. He continued to push it up, putting effort into his work for the first time since he lost his powers.

"No, Clark… let's go!" Chloe hissed, staring in the direction of the guard. Clark glanced where Chloe was eagerly looking and carefully set down the jet. He suddenly stared Chloe's fear as he realized what was at risk. In a moment, he had snatched her up and whisked her through the lot and over the fence.

A minute later, the guard flashed his light around the jumbo jet. There was something here… he knew it. He thought he even saw the jet lift in the air. But wait- this was ludicrous. Jets and planes didn't magically float in the air. He grasped his transmitter and radioed in for someone else to take his shift. Obviously he wasn't getting enough sleep.

Lois woke up to a hastily scrawled note stating that Chloe and Clark really couldn't wait and needed to get on the road. She sighed, crumpled up the note, and flung it at the wastebasket. She flipped onto her back and pulled her mask over her eyes. Her last thought before drifting off again was that Clark Kent seemed to make Chloe weirder and weirder…

By the time Lois Lane was contemplating the odd sequence of events, Clark and Chloe were already back in Clark's loft considering their own, much odder experiences. They sat side by side on the couch lost in their own thoughts for a moment. Clark smiled slightly, "That wasn't quite what I expected."

Chloe stood up from the couch hastily. "Clark… look I'm really sorry. I just learn your secret and I almost blow it within a few days." She sighed. "No wonder you never trusted me."

"Chloe… don't say that. There are so many times I wanted to tell you."

"I know, Clark. I've done my share of snooping where I didn't belong. I can't help it! It's like… an impulse almost."

"It's deeper than that." Clark sighed and walked over to her. "Look, when my dad told me I was an alien, I didn't know what to think. Suddenly the things I always knew were wrong. Everything became uncertain. And then… well I started developing all these powers and I didn't know what was happening to me. Can you imagine how that must have felt?"

"Pretty scary, I guess," she admitted.

"It was. It… is. I don't know who or what I really am. And if I'm freaked out by myself, how could I not expect everyone else to feel the same way about me?"

Chloe was moved by Clark's speech. From his perspective, being an alien was this terrible freakish ordeal. She couldn't blame him for feeling that way and yet, she was in disbelief. "Clark, I think all the things you can do are really amazing. I mean, look at all you've accomplished just these past days. You ran to Metropolis and back in three seconds, you lifted a jet in the air…you can do things people only dream of."

Clark smiled. "You know, I haven't really thanked you for today…"

"You don't need to Clark. It was actually kind of fun in a weird way."

"I'm not just talking about the trials, Chloe. I wanna thank you for helping me figure out who I am. I've been struggling with my abilities for years now, but somehow with you around they don't seem so bad. It feels… pretty good for a change," he shrugged as he walked toward his telescope. He stared into the night sky contemplatively.

"You know… we didn't cover _all _of your abilities," she told him, looking into the sky with him. "When you rescued me from the caves, you flew. And I was wondering-"

"No Chloe, I can't."

"Sure you can Clark. We've worked through…"

"It's not that. I'm not… ready for it. I'm not ready to give up that part of my humanity yet," he explained, almost choking on the word 'humanity.'

"Okay, it's your choice," she glanced down at her watch. "Geez, it's past three. I'm should head home."

"Need a ride?"

"No, thanks. I think I'm okay on my own," she insisted and started heading down the stairs. She stopped halfway and turned around. "Clark?"

"Yeah?"

"Promise me you'll fly one day?"

"Yeah. I promise."

Chloe smiled to herself and made her way to the Beetle in the front of the house, never knowing that a pair of eyes was watching her every move…

Author's Note: Sorry for the shameless Superman references! I just felt like some Clois.  Anyway, so the aircraft spiel comes from the Federation of American Scientists Next chapter: "Know Thy Enemy!"


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Know Thy Enemy

Author's Note: If you don't live egregious clashes of real Superman mythology, you won't like this chapter much… but then if you were a Superman purist you probably wouldn't be watching Smallville, would you? ;-) Oh yea, there's definite discontinuity from Season Five, because I started the story before Season Five even started. Oh well!

Chloe was hammering away at her laptop as usual pulling up any relevant searches. Clark came up beside her and handed her a much needed steaming cup of Joe. Chloe jumped as he set down the mug beside her.

"Is everything okay, Chloe?" he asked worriedly.

She rubbed her forehead. "Yea, fine Clark," she answered testily. "I'm just trying to figure out how to defeat a being from another planet." She grasped the mug and took in the tantalizing flavor of the cocoa beans. A wave of calm came about her; coffee always seemed to steady her nerves. "Lucky for you, I did sense a pattern."

"Pattern?"

"Yeah, now you said this Ominix guy could clone himself, could do some kind of telekinesis, shoot energy beams, and disappear out of sight?"

"Pretty much."

"Well, in theory he sounds like the perfect supervillain, in reality he's nothing you haven't seen before…" Chloe left her desk, went over to the other side of the room, and pulled out a big billboard with many small articles and newspaper clippings all over. Clark scrutinized it a moment.

"The Wall of Weird? I thought you left it behind after you left the Torch?"

Chloe snickered. "Yea right, Clark. And leave behind my own personal database of Smallville's finest?"

Clark nodded and began leafing through the articles. "I seem to be conspicuously absent from here," he noted.

"Yeah, I took them all down after I found out your secret," she said absently. Clark smiled slightly, realizing what a good friend Chloe had been the past year. Chloe didn't know, deep into her journalistic impulses. She pulled up an article dated May 2002 and laid it down on the table.

"Remember Justin Gaines? Former artist for the Torch… tried to kill me with farm implements freshman year?"

"How could I forget?" he asked, scrutinizing the article. "He had the power of telekinesis."

"Exactly… and that's just the first piece of the puzzle. She tapped a few buttons on her keyboard and pulled up another webpage. "Here's Ian Randall, a kid who tried to do it all…"

"… by splitting himself in two," Clark finished. "Geez Chloe, are we trying to figure out this guy or just looking through your Rolodex of ex-boyfriends?"

Chloe shoved Clark gently. "My bad taste in men aside, there's a definite pattern here."

Clark shuffled through the Wall of Weird. "Yea, but there's nothing about the energy beams here."

"Yeah, I noticed that. Now it's either an oddball power out of the grab bag _or_ maybe there's some kind of power that's similar to it."

"Dr. Walden," Clark stated in recognition. "He had that power too."

"Dr. Walden? The guy Lex hired to read the hieroglyphics on the cave wall?"

"After he put the key in the wall, he gained this power… he used it to try to kill me."

"Geez and I thought he was just some nosy scientist. But there's some good that's can come out of all this..."

"What's that?"

"Clark, you defeated them all. So my guess is if you use the same tactics on our visitor from another planet, we'll be in the clear. The only thing we're missing is a motive and unless there's a secret alien database on the internet I don't think we're gonna find one…"

"The Fortress…" Clark stated. Chloe looked at him in confusion. "Chloe, when I united the stone they made some sort of Fortress in the Arctic. If I can find that, maybe I'll find the answers."

"Sounds like everything's coming together," Chloe smiled, taking another sip of her coffee. "And it's barely noon."

"There's one thing I'm worried about… if Ominix knew how to beat me, why hasn't he shown up yet? If anything it'll give the city more time to prepare. What's he waiting for?"

Chloe sighed and put down her coffee. "Clark, there's something you should know. When I coming home last night, I thought maybe something was following me. Now it might have just been my imagination or maybe one too many kidnappings in the past, but I don't know…"

Clark raised an eyebrow and looked at her with concern. "If he's after you… Chloe you better stay here on the farm. Don't get out in the open, I want you be safe."

"But Clark, what if you-"

"Chloe… I don't want you to get hurt. I'm going to the Fortress, promise you'll stay here?"

"Alright," she nodded in agreement. She grabbed his sleeve before he took off, "Clark? Be careful."

He nodded and raced out the door. Chloe's eyes darted anxiously; she shook herself and turned back to her computer screen. It was just her imagination… right?"

Clark reached the Fortress in record time and looked at the vast amount of books on the shelves all labeled in his native Kryptonian. But there were so many! How would he know which one to choose? Sighing, he looked to the podium and noticed for the first time that Kryptonian characters were arranged in a circle, much like in the cave wall after he inserted the key. Curious, he pressed the characters of O M I N I X. To his surprise, he was surrounded by a ray of blue light bearing a Kryptonian manuscript.

Clark read the inscription: _Ominix: enemy from the neighboring planet Zath. The Zathians tried to coerce Krypton into giving them their latest technology. Krypton refused, thinking they were only using it to gain power to rule over the galaxy. Ominix discovered the meteor rocks we now call kryptonite under the surface of the planet. He found they gave his people special, mutant powers which he used against Krypton. He later found the rocks were lethal to us and would raid the planet with bombardments of kryptonite. He would later be imprisoned by the Council, held in another dimension. Only blood spilled with the Stones of Power could conceivably release him from his prison. We can only pray he'll stay imprisoned and that the Stones of Power stay in the hands of Kryptonians._

The light flicked off and Clark took in the information. Blood spilled? The stone Lana was stained with blood, but from where? He shook his head. He had no time to think of the past. He had to stop this menace before he attacked this planet. He still had time to save it. Clark raced out of the Fortress in urgency. He just hoped he wasn't too late…

Chloe paced the farmhouse anxiously. What if her hunch that that she was being followed was wrong? What if Ominix was going to attack the city at any moment when they least expected it? She felt so helpless standing around doing nothing. Maybe she should contact the Metropolis PD… She sighed and pulled back the curtain on the window. It was pouring rain outside, so heavy she could barely make out the contours of the family farm.

"Chloe, it's alright," Martha assured her. "I'm sure Clark has everything under control."

"Yea, maybe… I just need to calm down. Do you have any more coffee Mrs. Kent?"

Martha laughed a little. "Chloe that would be your fifth cup."

Chloe nodded and scratched her head. "I wish there was some way I could help Clark."

"Trust me, you already have," she smiled warmly.

"Clark will figure this out," Jonathan added. We can only help him so much. You can't exactly read Kryptonian, either."

"Yeah, but maybe I could help search through his files… do you know where he keeps them?"

"In the barn… but Chloe, you should stay here. It's not safe out here," Jonathan protested.

"Don't worry, I'll just around the corner," she smirked and took off before the Kents could stop her. She ran toward the barn hastily, kicking up the mud behind her. She kept staring backward… nothing. After what seemed like an eternity, she reached the barn. She hastily closed the doors, eager to keep out any unwanted guests. After she realized she had made it into the barn alone, Chloe smiled smugly and brushed off her jacket.

"See? It will take more than that to pull one over on Chloe Sullivan," she declared to herself.

Suddenly, a hand clamped around her mouth.

"Guess again."

Author's Note: Oh no! What will happen to Chloe?

By the way, the name of the planet was completely arbitrary so any resemblance to any story is purely coincidental.

Battle sequences are by and large the hardest chapters to map out so this next chapter may take a few days… I will try not to take too long though. (Just give me a push if you're feeling impatient). There are one or perhaps two chapters left and then I can put this really overdue fic to rest. 


	9. Chapter 9: An Alien Confrontation, A Str

Chapter 9: An Alien Confrontation, A Strange Situation

Author's Note: Today seems to be the perfect night for me to finish my story, since the storm basically knocked out Comcast! This will be the final chapter. It was rough tying everything together, but hopefully I'll keep your interest. Read on!

Clark zipped back to the farm, eager to find Chloe and tell her what he had learned. The rain continued pouring down, soaking him from head to toe. He grasped the doorknob and tore into the Kent farmhouse. He walked to the kitchen, hoping to ask his parents for advice.

"Mom! Dad?" he called. Fearing the worst, Clark raced around the house, searching for his family. He turned on his X-ray vision, but no skeletal figures emerged in his line of vision. After doing a full sweep of the house, he took off in the direction of the barn. He ran in and called for his parents and Chloe. Only his voice rang back to him. He could see farm implements, a tractor, hay, everything seemed unchanged… but no Chloe, no dad, no mom. His X-ray vision again turned up nobody. Clark scowled and returned to the house.

He was starting to panic as he tried to figure out where they could have gone. Suddenly, he heard a strange buzzing sound in the next room. He walked over to the living room, only to see the static screen of the television. Clark stooped down to adjust the knob. The screen flipped and Ominix appeared in the monitor.

The large, hulking alien appeared; his pallid complexion lighting up the screen. "Missed me Kal-El? Do you dare face me again… or do you leave your friend and your family to die?" He made a swift motion with his arms to reveal Chloe and the Kents, blindfolded, at the top of a huge skyscraper in Metropolis. Clark's breath caught in his throat. He took off into the city in the blink of an eye.

In seconds, Clark arrived at his destination. He looked up at Chloe and his parents, who were huddled together with terror etched all over their features. He gauged his enemy, filled with hatred toward the man who was putting his friends and family in jeopardy.

"Let them go," he said, coldly.

Ominix approached Clark slowly, his robe trailing behind him. "You move fast, Kal-El, even for you people," he grinned, baring his long yellow teeth.

"Let them go. They have nothing to with this."

"Ahhh, but they do Kal-El," he explained, circling Clark like a ravenous vulture. "They have everything to do with this. Now, I know what you're thinking. You're wondering why I waited to attack. Why I didn't kill you and the rest of your pathetic planet when I had the chance?"

Clark said nothing, but stood his ground eying Ominix cautiously.

"You see Kal-El; I learned long ago the best tactics: to ignite terror, to have you in the palm of my hand, the same way I beat your pathetic race into submission."

"Yeah right, by rotting away in a galactic prison?" Clark retorted sarcastically. This comment seemed to irk Ominix. He whipped around angrily.

"Foolish Kryptonian! Full of phony sentimentality! That's the problem with your race! It wasn't enough for us to beat your leaders and destroy the warriors. It was the innocents who mattered. How your people would mourn their _innocent_: the crippled, the helpless, the young…"

"You murdered innocent children?" he answered in shock.

"Of course, it was easy to squeeze their little throats until they gave out. And this is how I plan to beat you, young Kal-El. I have been watching you; I know these are the people you love most. I wanted you to watch them die slowly before I took over your helpless planet."

Ominix split himself in two and launched himself at Clark. Clark zipped away, just barely missing him. He looked around cautiously for any bystanders.

"Ohhh, don't worry about anyone discovering your little secret, they've all run away. And those who didn't…" he turned his head to show him the spattering of corpses in the street, covered in blood. Clark turned back, anger growing. He flung Ominix backwards with his heat vision. The villain rubbed his head and stood up slowly.

"Let the games begin," he stated as he concentrated his gaze on Chloe. She screamed as she started to fall from the skyscraper. At the same time Ominix launched a dozen kryptonite daggers in Clark's direction. The blades glowed green as they flew through the air. Timing himself carefully, Clark began dodging the dagger as he ran to his friend in super speed. He ducked, hopped, and screwed back and forth, as he tried to ignore the stinging pain as they zipped past him. At the last minute, he swooped down to the ground just in time to catch his plummeting friend in his arms.

"Clark," she breathed her heart racing in her chest.

"Chloe, get out of here… run!"

Chloe did as she was told and dashed off into the streets. As she ran, Clark felt a searing pain in his chest. Ominix had started launching his energy beams. While they battled, the Kents were carefully making their way down the building hoping to avoid being noticed. Unfortunately, Ominix appeared to be getting the drop on their son.

He raised Clark above the ground and smirked at his helplessness. Clark used his heat vision to loosen the villain's hold on him. Ominix relented and was flung backwards into a nearby car, smashing the windshield. The car hood crunched down and oil started leaking from the bottom. Blood dripped from his forehead and shards of glass were flung all around him. Clark observed this fact with interest, Ominix was not invulnerable. He _could_ be hurt. But what were _his_ limits?

"Nice try, Kal-El. Zathians are notoriously fast healers," he laughed. "I wonder if your Earthly parents are too?"

Clark turned to see his parents standing near the Daily Planet building. Ominix threw one of his energy beams at the Planet globe. To Clark's horror, the globe began to teeter to one side and came crashing down toward his parents. He ran to their aid, catching the giant globe on his back. His knees buckled as Ominix came toward him, holding a meteor rock in his hands. Clark grunted under the weight as he struggled to lift it. Just as he was about to give way, he heard a loud _thunk. _

Jonathan Kent had smashed Ominix over the head with a garbage can, causing him to drop the meteor rock. Ominix hunched over, then turned and grabbed Jonathan by the throat. Regaining his old strength, Clark flung the globe in his adversary's direction. He let go of Jonathan's throat and fell to the ground. Now furious, he split himself now into four and began flinging objects in Clark's direction hoping to distract him the same way he had before. But, now having a good grasp of his abilities, Clark was now able to stave off his attacks better than he had before.

All at once, Clark began dodging the objects and using his heat vision to fling them away. He fought off a hydrant, kiosk, and park bench, whatever Ominix could will to life. Others started using their energy beams in addition to the telekinesis ability. Clark was flung backwards by one particularly strong blow. He tried to stand and rubbed his chest painfully. He then noticed something he hadn't. The original Ominix stood in the back of the other three, staring at them while he tried to focus on Clark. What if all the clones were under his control and he was the main power source?

Clark struggled to get up and saw a street lamp headed in his direction. Acting quickly, he reached out and smashed his hand into it. The lamp flung backwards in Ominix's direction, landing in the puddle of oil near the smashed car. The wires sprung to life, igniting a fire directly behind the villain. He began to scream in agony. While still fighting off the advances of the clones, Clark focused his superhearing on the main villain.

"The heat! It's as warm as the Yellow Suns of Krypton!" he heard Ominix mutter to himself. A realization hit Clark… maybe the reason Ominix and his people never succeeded in taking over Krypton was because of its suns! All he needed was a source of heat… He remembered what Chloe said about using his knowledge from fighting other meteor freaks. He bit his lip; nothing around them appeared flammable and he couldn't get within five feet without being bowled over by Ominix or one of his clones.

Suddenly he was hit by another energy beam and flew backwards onto a nearby manhole in the streets. The lid crunched against his weight, leaving a large dent. Clark scowled as he smelled the bitter fumes of sewage gas leaking from underneath. The smell was oddly familiar. He smelled it all the time when he checked on the cows in the pasture… _methane_. He clutched his stomach as he struggled to get up. Ominix approached him and looking down at him with a superior smirk on his face.

"See? You cannot beat me Kal-El. I will always triumph," he sneered.

"You're weak, Ominix. You still haven't beaten me," Clark gloated as he struggled to get up.

"I plan to fix that, right now," Ominix gathered a huge beam in his hands and aimed it at Clark. Gauging his speed carefully, Clark raced away at the last moment leaving the energy beam to smash into the manhole instead. The beam traveled through the hole and into the sewer pipes. Ominix barely knew what hit him as the ground under him gave way and he was consumed by a gigantic explosion. The clones stopped what they were doing and began fading in the distance. Though far from the flames, the clones shared a life-line with their 'master.' He shrieked in surprise as the flames licked around him. Clark waited nearby for the explosion to finish. When the dust cleared, Ominix was no more.

Clark leaned against a nearby truck, catching his breath and feeling quite a bit of relief. He smiled as Chloe rushed up to him and gathered him in a tight hug. His parents followed in suit and pulled Clark into a group hug. It was a moment before they all left go.

"Thank God, you're safe Clark," Martha sighed, tightening her embrace.

"We are really proud of you Clark," Jonathan stated, patting his son on the back.

"Yeah Clark, looks like some of those investigative skills are finally rubbing off on you. Nice work," Chloe complimented. "Though it's going to take the city a while to get rid of that rotten egg smell…"

"I couldn't have done it without you, Chloe… and the cows," he added as an afterthought.

"Yeah, well just another perk about growing up on a farm," Jonathan laughed. "Now let's get out of here before someone comes to investigate." The other nodded and began migrating away from the scene of the fight. They left just in time to see a fire truck race by them, eager to put out the flames left by the explosion before they ignited the entire city.

Moments later, when the city was safe again, a young bald billionaire surveyed the damage holding his nose with a handkerchief. He shook his head and regarded the reporter he had sent to the scene. She lay dead beside him covered in her own blood. Lex sighed and placed his jacket over his body. But instead of mourning his untimely death, he was instead nursing his regret over having missed another unexplained event right under his nose. He watched the pieces of the city scattered all over the road, the roads cracked, the Daily Planet globe crushed nearby, and the nearby buildings scorched beyond repair. He scowled and dialed his cell phone. One of these days, he was going to figure out what caused all the strange events in his life. Then he would finally be satisfied with his life… wouldn't he?

_Hours later at the Kent barn…._

Clark smirked and handed Chloe a steaming mug of cappuccino. Chloe took the mug gratefully and pulled on her blanket to get warm.

"How are your parents?" she asked.

"They're fine… they completely crashed out," he sat down next to her on the couch, cradling his own mug. "Chloe, I'm sorry."

Chloe knitted her brow. "For what?" she asked, sipping her coffee drink with satisfaction.

"I was just thinking… if you never knew me, if you never learned my secret, you'd never be in so much danger today," Clark muttered, starting down at his mug.

"Clark, c'mon… I live for danger. How much trouble have I gotten into these past years _without_ your help?"

He chucked slightly. "Enough."

"Exactly. This is our life Clark, might as well sit back and enjoy the ride," she stated philosophically. Then she unexpectedly started shoveling under the couch cushions. Clark regarded her curiously as she revealed a couple of DVDs and shoved them in his face. "Which is why, I brought us some entertainment! I thought we could use a night of other people putting themselves in peril for a change."

Clark picked up the DVDs Chloe had picked out. "Men in Black… Independence Day… E.T… Chloe there are all alien movies!"

"What better way to celebrate the outing of one's best friend? Now, pick one!" she urged.

He sighed and picked one out without much hesitation. "This one."

"E.T.: The Extraterrestrial?"

"Kinda prefer a friendlier type of alien," he relented, cracking a smile.

Chloe nodded, returning his smile. "Me too. Now put it in!"

Clark carried the old TV set he kept in the loft and popped in the DVD. He clicked with the remote and made himself comfortable. He laid his back against the couch and slung his hand over the edge of the couch. As the movie started, Chloe eventually shifted over to the crook of his arm and laid her head on his chest. She was asleep fifteen minutes into the movie. Clark smiled and kissed the top of Chloe's head affectionately. In moment, he too fell asleep, head rested atop her head.

The following morning when she went to check up on Clark, Martha was greeted to quite a sight. Amused to find the two friends snuggled up against each other, she smiled softly to herself and shook her head. With those two together at last, who knew what kind of trouble they could get into?

**The End!**

Author's Note:

Ominix's plan of attack is loosely based on the plans of the serial snipers (Malvo and Muhammad). Their plan was indiscriminately target people, including children. The attacks happened fairly close to my hometown and where I went to college. Plus I wanted you to really hate him!

And if you're curious about the science of story, sewer gas is hydrogen sulfide and methane and methane is explosive. Cows also give off methane in the form of flatulence and burps they produce during digestion. They help contribute to global warming! It took me a long time to figure out how to blow the dude up so I hope that was satisfactory. :-p

I wanted to explore Clark accepting himself a little more. I'm hoping Smallville will go in that direction next season. And yeah, I went for the shippy ending. Couldn't resist! Hope you enjoyed. 


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